Apparatus for treating sheet-iron



(No Milam.)

l 2 ShePtS-Slleet 1.. W. D. WOOD@ .APPARATUS PoR TREATING SHEET- PRONQP' M 294,559. Patented Mar. .4, 1884;

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NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE..

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APPARATUS FOR TREATING SHEET-mont SPECIFICA'! ION forming part ofLetters Patent No. 294,559, dated March 4, 1884. Application filedSeplemher 26, 1883. (No model.)

T all who/11, t mag/'concern Be it known that I, W. Dnwnns WOOD, acitizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburg, county ofAllegheny, State of Pennsyl- Vania, have invented or discovered a newand useful Improvement in Apparatus for rlreating Sheet-Iron; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, concise, and exactdescription thereof, reference being had to the my apparatus.

accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which-dikeletters indicating like parts Figure 1, Sheet l, isa perspective view ofFig. 2, Sheet 2, is an enlarged detail view, certain parts being shownin scction. Fig. 3, Sheet 2, shows the hingedjoint, the side ot' thejoint being broken away to show the steam-ports.

In an application, No. 96,919, filed June 21, 1883, I have described andclaimed a process of manufacturing what is knownin the art sometimes asRussia and sometimes as planished7 sheet-iron. This process consists,.in general terms, in forming or building up on the surfaces of thesheet a comparativelyheavy oxide coating, which is subsequently revived,as it is called, or converted into nascent iron, and which latter isconv'erted into a black or magnetic oxide, such thatby .subseqentheat-ingand hammering the described polished surface is produced. One ofthe steps of this process consists in subjecting the sheets, just asthey are taken from the reheating or annealingi'urnace, and at abrightred heat, and covered with ashes and unconsumed charcoal-Avithwhich latter material they were packed previously to being heated orbaked-to the action ot'superheated steam,

thereby producing a black or magnetic oxide on the surfaces of thesheets. The sheets are then immediately-to be chilled or' cooled, so asto reduce the surface of the sheets to a temperature below that at whichany further oxidation or injurious action under atmospheric' influencecan take place. This chilling may be effect-ed in various wa'ysj-as, forinstance, sponging off the sheets with cold water, or by means ot' broomor sprinkling deviceattached to the steam-applying apparatus.

My present invention relates to an apparavtus for applying steam againstor onthe sheetiron, and for sprinkling and cleaning off the sheets afterbeing acted on by the steam.`

4are then turned over onto an adjoining and similar bed, andthe otherside of the sheet is similarly treated.

To insure a complete and uniform distribution of the steam, I employ atransverse horizontal pipe, a, of a length at least equal to the breadthofthe sheets, and provided with perforations or fan-tailed nozzles c',which are constructed with long narrow slits, so that the steam will bedirected and distributed in broad thin sheets against or on the sheets,so as to be applied wit-h practical uniformity over the entire surface.The perforations or nozzles are arranged in such close proximity to eachother that the sheefrsjof steam will cross each other, and at such angleto the sheets that the ashes, Src., will be raised up and blown oit'from the sheets by the action of the steam,thereby insuring the contactof the steam with every part of the surface of the sheet. Thistransverse pipe a is connected bya short elbow, c, toone part of ahollow-hinged coupling, d, which may be of any known constructionsuitable for the purpose, the' vone shown in Fig. 3 being of the swing joiut style or pattern, wherein the abutting walls or diaphragms d areprovided with ports or openings, which,by turning one part ofthecoupling, can be brought intoV register with each other. By thisconstruction I enabled to cause a flow 4of steam from the nozzles cby aslight turn of one part of the coupling on the rod d3, which holds theparts of the coupling together. The other part of this coupling d isconnected by an elbow to the long vertical pipe e, which,at its upperend,is connected by a hollowhinged coupling, f, tol one end of ahorizontal pipe, e. The other end of this pipe e is also connected by asimilar hollow coupling, f', to the pipe e, which is connected with asuitable steam generator and superheater. By this arrangement v of pipesand couplings I am enabled to raise andlower the vtransverse pipe a, tobring it the proper distance from vthe pack on the table A. The pipe eisof such a length and is IOO ' tion. Thislimited coolingis important, forthe pivoted at such a distance from the bed A l that the are of thecircle in which the trans verse pipe a swings is practically parallel tothe bed.

To swing the transverse pipe a and to turn itvertically in its hingedcoupling d, I employ the handle g, attached to the elbow c between thecoupling and the transverse pipe. To the handle g, just in the rear ofthe elbow c, is secured a short pipe-elbow, Il, to the upper end ofwhich is attached a length of hose, h', leading to a suitableWatersupply. The other end of this elbow 71r is suitably secured to oneof a pair of clamp-bars, Z, arranged parallel to the transverse pipe u,and between these clampbars is secured the broom on, the two bars of theclamp being drawn together by suitable bolts and nuts. On each side ofthis broom, and at the top thereof, are arranged transverse perforatedpipes a ando, by which water is supplied and directed on the broom insuch quantities as to keep it thoroughly wet. These transversewater-pipes a and o are supported by and connected to the ,pipe-elbow hby means of short pipes p and q. To hold these devices at the properheight and aid in adjusting them up and down, I attach to the handleg achain, i', which passes up over a pulley, s, and down over anotherpulley, i, and has a weight, 1r, attached to its free end. In the pipese and zv are arranged stop-cocks .t and y, whereby the flow of steam andwater is` regulated. After the sheets are placed on the bed A, the workman slightly raises the handle f/ to turn one part otthe coupling d,thereby bringing the ports d into line with each other, and allowing thesteam to escape from the nozzles. He then swings the whole deviceforward over the sheets, thus directing the steam to every part of thesheets and insuring a uniform formation of a black or magnetic oxideover the whole surface. The broo1n,whieh immediately follows, chills thesheets on the side under operation and sweeps off from the sheets allthe residue of ashes and uneonsumed charcoal thereon, leaving the sheetsin condition for further operation. The broom, in addition to cleaningoff the sheets, acts as a distributer of the water, bringing it intocontact with every part of the sheet, but in such limited qualitities asto chill only the surface under operareason that the other sides of thesheets are to be similarly treated.

In some respects the construction ofthe devices thus described may bemodified or changed without any substantial departure from the scope ofthe present invention, and more particularly as regards the form anddistribution of the iet openings or nozzles forthe supply anddistribution of the superheated steam, and as regards the construct-ionof the water-distributing mechanism.

That I claim herein as my invention is l. In an apparatus for treatingsheet-iron, the combination of a steam supply and distributing mechanismand a cooling or chillingV mechanism, arranged for operation iuimmediat-e succession along the surface of the sheet under treatment,substantially as set forth.

2. An apparatus for applying superheated steamto sheet-iron surfaees,havin gatransverse pipe, a, provided with suitable jet-openings,for the uniform distribution of the steam over the surface of the sheet,and a valve, d, for turning on or shutting off the steamsupply, incombination with means for opening and closing the valve at will andreciprocating the transverse pipe over the surface of the sheet,substantially as set forth.

3. In an apparatus for treating sheet-iron, the combination of the steamsupply and distributing mechanism, a water supply and distributingmechanism, and a mechanism for sweeping off the sheets by frictionalcontact therewith, arranged for operation along the surface of the sheetunder treatment, substantially as set forth.

7t. In an apparatus for treating sheet-iron, a steam supply anddistributing mechanism and a water supply and distributing mechanismconnected with the same operatinghandle, g, in combination with aflexible supply to each, substantially as set forth.

In an apparatus for treating sheet-iron, the combination of thetransverse pipe a, having perforatious or nozzles, the pipe e, theperforated pipe o, and the hose h', substantially as set forth.

(j. In an apparatus for treating shectiron, the combination ofthetransverse pipe a, having perforations or nozzles, the hinged and portedcoupling d, the pipe e, the perforated pipe o, the flexible pipe h', andthe handle y, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set myr hand.

\V. DEVVEES 7001).

\Vitncsses:

D. S. WoLeoTT, R. H. \Vur1"rLi;snY. i

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